detroit lions vs. st. louis rams the season begins consistency up front ...

GAME #3
LIONS 26, VIKINGS 23 OT
MALL OF AMERICA FIELD, SEPTEMBER 25, 2011
ATTENDANCE: 62,466
1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q OT Final
DETROIT LIO NS 0 0 10 13 3 26
MINNESOTA VIKINGS 6 14 0 3 - 23
VIKINGS ..............Longwell 33 yd. Field Goal
VIKINGS ..............Longwell 41 yd. Field Goal
VIKINGS ..............Peterson 6 yd. run (Longwell kick)
VIKINGS ..............Shiancoe 8 yd. pass from McNabb (Longwell kick)
LIONS ..................Johnson 32 yd. pass from Staff ord (Hanson kick)
LIONS ..................Hanson 28 yd. Field Goal
LIONS ..................Johnson 5 yd. pass from Staff ord (Hanson kick)
LIONS ..................Hanson 50 yd. Field Goal
LIONS ..................Hanson 40 yd. Field Goal
VIKINGS ..............Longwell 49 yd. Field Goal
LIONS ..................Hanson 32 yd. Field Goal
First Downs
Total Net Yards
Net Yards Rushing
Net Yards Passing
(Att/Comp/Int)
Punts-Average
Fumbles-Lost
Sacks-Yards
Penalties-Yards
Time of Possession
LIONS
19
358
20
338
46-32-0
7-46.4
1-0
4-22
7-65
34:09
VIKINGS
16
321
132
189
36-22-0
6-44.5
1-0
5-40
10-79
27:50
RUSHING
LIONS: Best 12-14; Harrison 2-8; Williams 2-3; Staff ord 1-(-1); Morris 2-(-4).
VIKINGS: Peterson 17-78 1 TD; Harvin 2-41; McNabb 2-11; Gerhart 2-2.
PASSING
LIONS: Staff ord 32-46 378 2 TD.
VIKINGS: McNabb 22-36 211 1 TD.
RECEIVING
LIONS: Pettigrew 11-112; Johnson 7-108 2 TD; Best 5-74; Young 4-51;
Burleson 2-12; Morris 1-14; Scheffl er 1-4; Harrison 1-3.
VIKINGS: Jenkins 9-88; Peterson 4-19; Harvin 3-47; Rudolph 3-39; Shiancoe
1-8 1 TD; Gerhart 1-5; Aromashodu 1-5.
SUMMARY
The Detroit Lions traveled to the Metrodome looking for their fi rst win in Minnesota
since 1997 and, early on, the Vikings were not welcoming hosts. The Vikings received
the opening kickoff and were able to get off to a hot start. On the fi h play of the drive,
RB Adrian Peterson ran off right tackle for 43 yards down to the Lions 20-yard line.
The Detroit defense tightened up in the red zone and held the Vikings to a 33-yard
fi eld goal by K Ryan Longwell. A er a three-and-out by the Lions off ense, Minnesota
added to its lead. Starting with good fi eld position at its own 47, Minnesota once again
drove down into the red zone, but a sack by DT Ndamukong Suh stopped the drive and
forced another Longwell fi eld goal. A er two FGs, the Vikings fi nally found the end
zone in the second quarter. On their second possession of the quarter, WR Percy Harvin
took a reverse 39 yards down the le sideline that put the Vikings in scoring position.
A er consecutive passes from QB Donovan McNabb to TE Kyle Rudolph brought the
ball inside the 10-yard line, Peterson fi nished the drive with a 6-yard touchdown run.
With just over a minute to go in the half, the Lions were forced to punt the football
back to Minnesota. Return man Marcus Sherels brought it back 53 yards and with an
additional 15-yard face mask penalty by Detroit, the Vikings started on the Lions’
13-yard line with 0:50 remaining. On third down, McNabb found TE Visanthe Shiancoe
in the back of the end zone for an 8-yard touchdown and Minnesota took a 20-0 lead
to the locker room. A er each team punted on their fi rst possession of the second
half, the QB Matthew Staff ord-led Lions attack fi nally got going on their second drive.
Staff ord found TE Brandon Pettigrew for back-to-back receptions for 20 total yards
and then took a shot deep to his favorite target, WR Calvin Johnson. The third-year
QB threw a 32-yard fade pattern to Johnson, who jumped over DB Chris Cook for his
fi h TD reception of the season. Following another Vikings three-and-out, Staff ord hit
Pettigrew three times on the next drive, including a 27-yarder, which culminated in a
28-yard fi eld goal by K Jason Hanson. With momentum changing sidelines, the Detroit
defense forced a third-straight three-and-out. On the subsequent possession, Staff ord
hit rookie WR Titus Young for 17 yards for a key third down conversion. On the next play,
the fi nal one the 3rd quarter, RB Jahvid Best took a screen pass from Staff ord and raced
down the sideline for a 60-yard gain to the Vikings’ 5-yard line. The Staff ord-Johnson
combination struck again on the fi rst play of the fourth quarter for a 5-yard touchdown
reception and cut the Lions’ defi cit to three. Trying to re-establish control of the game,
Minnesota drove the ball down to the Lions 17-yard line, where they were faced with
a 4th-and-1. Head Coach Leslie Frazier decided to go for it, but the Lions stopped RB
Toby Gerhart short of the marker and took over on downs. Down a fi eld goal, Staff ord
led the off ense back down the fi eld and set up Hanson who converted on a game-tying
50-yarder. Tied with just over fi ve minutes to play, the Lions forced the Vikings into
another punt. Detroit took over near midfi eld and a er a pass to Pettigrew followed
by a 15-yard horse collar penalty, the ball was inside the Vikings 25-yard line. Three
plays later, Hanson booted a 40-yard fi eld goal to give the Lions their fi rst lead of the
game. With 2:25 remaining, McNabb led a 9-play, 52-yard drive to set up Longwell for
a game-tying 49-yard fi eld goal ultimately sending the game to overtime. The Lions
won the toss in the extra session and elected to receive. On second down, Staff ord
hit Young on another 17-yard gain to move the ball close to midfi eld. Two plays later,
Staff ord saw single coverage on Johnson and threw it up to the big wide out. Johnson
made an over-the-shoulder catch inside the Vikings 15-yard line. On the next play,
Hanson kicked a game-winning 32-yard fi eld goal.
SEASON IN REVIEW
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GAME #4
LIONS 34, COWBOYS 30
COWBOYS STADIUM, OCTOBER 2, 2011
ATTENDANCE: 78,122
1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q OT Final
DETROIT LIONS 0 3 14 17 - 34
DALLAS OWBOYS C
7 13 10 0 - 30
COWBOYS ..........Bryant 25 yd. pass from Romo (Bailey kick)
COWBOYS ..........Bryant 6 yd. pass from Romo (Bailey kick)
COWBOYS ..........Bailey 41 yd. Field Goal
LIONS ..................Hanson 33 yd. Field Goal
COWBOYS ..........Bailey 35 yd. Field Goal
COWBOYS ..........Witten 1 yd. pass from Romo
LIONS ..................Carpenter 34 yd. interception return (Hanson kick)
LIONS ..................Houston 56 yd. interception return (Hanson kick)
COWBOYS ..........Bailey 23 yd. Field Goal
LIONS ..................C. Johnson 23 yd. pass from Staff ord (Hanson kick)
LIONS ..................Hanson 51 yd. Field Goal
LIONS ..................C. Johnson 2 yd. pass from Staff ord (Hanson kick)
First Downs
Total Net Yards
Net Yards Rushing
Net Yards Passing
(Att/Comp/Int)
Punts-Average
Fumbles-Lost
Sacks-Yards
Penalties-Yards
Time of Possession
LIONS
18
303
63
240
43-21-1
6-43.7
0-0
1-10
10-75
23:31
COWBOYS
25
434
113
331
47-34-3
3-53.7
0-0
0-0
7-33
36:39
RUSHING
LIONS: Best 11-47; Williams 4-14; Logan 1-3; Staff ord 1-(-1).
COWBOYS: Jones 16-57; Choice 6-39; Murray 4-12; Bryant 1-5.
PASSING
LIONS: Staff ord 21-43 240 2 TD 1 INT.
BILLS: Romo 34-47 331 3 TD 3 INT.
RECEIVING
LIONS: C. Johnson 8-96 2 TD; Pettigrew 6-64; Young 3-41; Best 2-23;
Burleson 2-16.
COWBOYS: Witten 8-94 1 TD; Robinson 7-116; Jones 5-19; Choice 4-23;
3-37 2 TD; Phillips 3-8; Bennett 2-22; Ogletree 1-13; Murray 1-(-1).
SUMMARY
The Dallas Cowboys hosted the Lions in a marquee matchup of Week 4 of the NFL
season. Like a week prior, the Lions quickly had to play from behind as the home
team jumped out in front. Following an interception of Lions QB Matthew Staff ord
by Cowboys S Gerald Sensabaugh, Cowboys QB Tony Romo found WR Dez Bryant
on a fade pattern from 25 yards out for the game’s fi rst touchdown. On the next
Dallas possession, Romo took the Cowboys down to the Lions’ 1-yard line. Head
Coach Jason Garrett decided to go for it on 4th-and-goal from the 1, but RB Felix
Jones was stopped short of the goal line. Unfortunately, the Lions off ense could
not build on the momentum and were forced into another punt. On the subsequent
drive, Romo hit Bryant again on a 6-yard touchdown pass to increase the lead to
14-0. The short touchdown reception was set up by a big play from Romo to WR
Laurent Robinson of 44 yards. The Cowboys increased the lead to 17-0 midway
through the second quarter on a 41-yard fi eld goal by K Dan Bailey. Down three
scores, the Lions off ense was fi nally able to get something going on their next
possession. Staff ord hit WR Calvin Johnson for 12 yards and then RB Jahvid Best
for 24 to bring Detroit into the red zone. Three incompletions stalled the drive, but
K Jason Hanson got the Lions on the scoreboard with a 33-yard fi eld goal. Dallas
answered Detroit’s three with a fi eld goal of their own to end the fi rst half with a
20-3 advantage. The Cowboys received the second half kickoff and a er Hanson
slipped on the kick, defensive lineman Sean Lissemore returned it 38 yards to set
the Cowboys up in good fi eld position at the Detroit 48-yard line. Six plays later,
Romo found TE Jason Witten from 1-yard out to take a 27-3 lead. Following
another Lions punt, the Detroit defense would get them back in the game on a
34-yard interception return for a touchdown by LB Bobby Carpenter. The Lions
defense got Detroit closer on the next Dallas drive when CB Chris Houston picked
off Romo and took it back 56 yards for another touchdown. In a matter of moments,
a 24 point lead had been trimmed to 10 and shades of Detroit’s Week 3 comeback
at Minnesota were starting to creep into Cowboys Stadium. Dallas would regain
a three possession lead on the next drive with another Bailey fi eld goal, this one
from 23 yards. The 4th quarter started with the Lions down 30-17, but got tighter
on just the third play when Staff ord connected on a 23-yard jump ball which WR
Calvin Johnson caught in the midst of three Cowboys’ defenders. A Hanson 51-yard
fi eld goal with 4:27 remaining cut the Cowboys lead to 30-27 and put the pressure
on the Lions defense to regain possession for the off ense. On the fi rst play of the
Dallas drive, LB Stephen Tulloch dropped into coverage and picked off a Romo pass
intended for Witten. The Lions started on the Dallas 40-yard line and six plays
later, they had a 3rd-and-goal from the 3-yard line. Staff ord tried to hit TE Brandon
Pettigrew, but Dallas CB Frank Walker was called for defensive holding giving the
Lions an automatic fi rst down. On the next play, Staff ord connected with Johnson
to give the Lions the lead. Down four, the Cowboys had one last drive for the win,
but a DE Willie Young sack all but ended it for Dallas. On 4th-and-20, Romo hit
Jones out of the backfi eld who was tackled short of the fi rst down marker and
the Lions improved to 4-0 on the season. It marked their fi rst 4-0 start since 1980.